Menendez vows to secure nation's election infrastructure in 2020

Sen. Robert Menendez
Photo credit Win McNamee/Getty Images
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez wants Congress to take steps to secure the nation’s election infrastructure and shore up voting systems, treating the "Mueller report like a preview of what's to come." 

Menendez, citing the Mueller report findings that Russia adversaries interfered in the 2016 elections, said it’s time for Congress to do what President Donald Trump will not.

"Russia-linked actors will target our election infrastructure in 2020, perhaps with even greater sophistication," he said.

Menendez, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the Mueller report shows that Russia hackers conducted cyber surveillance of at least 20 state election systems.

"And the Kremlin intended to use this information to cast doubt on the legitimacy of a Clinton victory," he added.

The stakes are high and time is ticking. If we don’t make a real, serious commitment to defending our nation & elections from future attacks, we risk the very sanctity of our democracy.Let’s protect #ElectionSecurity with the #PRIDEVotingAct. pic.twitter.com/lhdq3jrzkP

— Senator Bob Menendez (@SenatorMenendez) April 29, 2019

The president has repeatedly denied communicating with Russian officials during the 2016 election, consistently calling the Mueller investigation a "witch hunt."

Menendez wants the Department of Homeland Security to award grants to states to improve the use of paper ballots, because an auditable paper trail is critical to ensure that votes can be correctly counted. 

He also wants post-election risk limiting audits to test the accuracy of an election, and boost cyber-security standards to protect against hackers.